Posts Tagged ‘Supreme Court Justice’
Courtesy Associated Press
Elena Kagan! News just broke that Obama’s next Supreme Court nominee would be Kagan, the former dean of Harvard Law School and currently the first female Solicitor General. As the NBC newsbreak described:
“If confirmed, Kagan would will the vacancy left by retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. Stevens, 90, announced his decision to retire on April 9 after nearly 35 years of service on the high court. Kagan would also be the third sitting woman on the court, joining Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, and the fourth woman in history to be a Supreme Court Justice.”
While she is not expected to be very controversial, she could still face questioning on some of her views. Liberals find her assertions on executive power too conservative, while some conservatives do not agree with her stance on gay rights, for example.
What are your thoughts… is Kagan a good choice? Could she drastically change the Court? Will she be an adequate substitute for Stevens? Shoot us a comment and start the discussion.
Thanks to Wikicommons!
With all that’s happening due to Supreme Court Justice John Paul Steven’s retirement we at US Democrazy thought we’d give you some suggested sites about the SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States).
First off, what is the history of the court and its cases? Well, our friends at PBS has got you covered there. They have a wonderful website on the subject (including videos, games, and an AWESOME timeline). …read more.
Normally when we at USDemocrazy hear words like BATTLE! FIGHT! ATTACK! bandied about we head for cover and find our Kevlar. This week we heard those terms being shouted in Washington DC. and around the country!
The cause of this aggressive aggravation? President Obama’s appointment to the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor.
Just in case you missed it, a few weeks back Supreme Court Justice David Souter announced his retirement. This created a crucial new opening for Obama to make his first judicial appointment. (Not to fear, we’ll catch you up.)
After a couple of weeks of yelling, asserting, positing, and opining as to who should be the next judge on the highest court in America, Obama announced on Tuesday that Judge Sotomayor is his pick for the bench.
So…who is this justice potential?
Judge SotomayOR (pronounced with an emphasis on the OR — very judicious, no?) is 54, a Yale law graduate, a circuit court judge, and yes, a Latina. SotomayOR was born in Puerto Rico, but moved with her family to the Bronx, New York, where she grew up.
The fact that she’s a Latina has stirred up a lot of talk. She’d be the first Hispanic on the Court, and only the third woman. (We wonder what kind of advice Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg would give the new girl?)
And yes, though the announcement was made merely two days ago, the Republicans are already mounting their attack.
Based on what, you ask? Well… there’s a lot to be said about the Judge, and it seems every news outlet has a few cents to throw into the discussion.
To help you out we’ve found all the valuable stuff on Sotomayor that you’ll want to know. Now you can start an argument of your very own!
The Daily Beast gives you 200 words…
The White House wants to get Sotomayor approved as smoothly as possible… so they’ve compiled a complete story about her to help convince America!
Judgepedia.org has the dirt. (Like, judicial dirt.)
The Washington Post and the New York Times have the stuff on her interesting background.
A quick overview of some of Sotomayor’s opinions on hot issues.
Already a few of Sotomayor’s quotes have sparked controversy, including:
I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.
and this (see video):
So, responses? Respectively, here and here.
That first quote even inspired Newt Gingrich to call her a racist! And then the White House responded. (And the back-and-forth begins…)
And how will the right respond? Let’s take a look…
Politico predicts how she’ll get picked on!
But should the Republicans just take it easy on her?
Obama put the GOP in a tricky place, says Mother Jones.
Yet the Wall Street Journal has some questions lined up for the nominee.
And we get to see Orrin Hatch’s take too!
So… are you pro-Sotomayor or against? Let’s hear it!
